BY M Y T A S T E ,
SY L V IE R O S E N T H A L
has b een m y lo n g-
tim e craft crush.
She and her scu lp-
tures are viv a c io u s,
in v e n tiv e , and e n d -
le ssly en ergetic. I ’m d raw n to
her d etailed m eth od s o f c o n -
struction in w h ich she celebrates
a certain sim p licity, bu t h er lan -
guage is c o m p le x , fresh, im agi-
n a tive , and m agical. S h e ’s able
to com bin e b e a u ty and hum or
w ith im m aculate con stru ction
and rem arkable con cep tu al
d epth. She is fearless.
-C A R R M C C U IS T O N ,
O W lier,
S ig n a t u r e G a lle r y , A t l a n t a
I H A V E A C R A F T
crush on W h arto n
E sh erick , the
gran dd add y o f
all o f us studio
w o o d w o rk e rs.
H e d efin ed the gen re, y e t m an -
aged to transcend it as w ell. H e
em b od ied th e con trad ictio n s
th at lie at th e h eart o f 20th-
cen tu ry craft: rom an tic and
finan cially im practical, y e t also
jo y fu lly in v e n tiv e and p ro d u c-
tiv e and in d ividual. H is w o rk
com bin es prism s, fa ce ts, and
cu rvaceo u s elem en ts in a c o h e -
sive exu b eran ce. It’s delicate
and ch u n k y ; it’s q u irk y and it’s
arch etypal. I w o u ld lo v e to h ave
spen t a d ay w o r k in g w ith him .
-L A U R A M A Y S ,
le a d in s t r u c t o r ,
C o lle g e o f t h e R e d w o o d s F i n e
W o o d w o r k in g P r o g r a m ,
F o r t B r a g g , C A
I A M C R A F T -
m crushing on Chris-
Y
'
tin a B o th w e ll.
*,
Sh e m asterfully
'
em ploys a m ix o f
m edium s such as
cla y, w o o d , glass, p ain t, fou n d
ob jects, roadkill ta x id erm y -
w h a te v e r - in to h au n tin gly
co m p ellin g sculpture. A lth o u g h
som e m igh t describe B o th w e ll’s
scu lp tu re as d ark, I see it as
w o r k th a t red efin es b e a u ty
and p e rfe ctio n .
H er p o e tic , n arrative figures
ask us to go d eep er, to g o under
th e surface in our in teractio n s,
relation ships, and con n ection s.
U n d ern eath the n eat and tid y
surface, w h e re fears, fla w s, and
decline m igh t reside, there exists
the p o te n tia l for ren ew al. H er
w o rk leaves m e gobsm acked.
-M I C H A E L J A N IS ,
C O -d ireC tO r,
W a s h in g t o n G la s s S c h o o l a n d
S t u d io , M o u n t R a i n i e r , M D
M Y C U R R E N T
crush is on the
K
,
-
late fash ion de-
; ' r. J signer A le x a n d e r
M c Q u e e n and on
■
>
1
* the m an y cra fts-
p e o p le w h o h elp ed him exe cu te
his rem arkable visio n . I v isite d
the re tro sp ective o f his w o rk
at th e M e tro p o lita n M u seu m
o f A r t in N e w Y o r k in Ju ly, and
I w as b lo w n a w a y . T h e atten -
tion paid to each and e v e r y
d etail o f his d esign s, w h e th e r
the e m b ro id ery o f a k im on o
fabric or th e tailorin g o f a ja c k -
e t, w as exq u isite. I ’m still p o r-
in g o v e r th e exh ib itio n catalog,
exa m in in g e v e r y in ch o f those
am azin g cloth es and accessories
fo r inspiration.
-B E T H B L A N K E N S H IP ,
b e a d a r t is t , A n c h o r a g e , A K
Giovanni Corvaja
H eadpiece,
2008-9
18k gold, 22k gold
4.7 x 9 in. di a.
the Italian je w e le r
G io van n i C o rvaja
is the fin est g o ld -
sm ith w o rk in g
to d ay. H is w o r k
leaves m e in aw e. H e set the
insane o b je c tiv e o f try in g to
find a w a y to m ake go ld feel
like rabb it fur. H is spectacular
F le a d p ie c e ,
the crow n in g achieve-
m ent o f his G olden F leece series,
is com posed o f m ore than 5 mil-
lion single gold w ires, w ith a total
length o f 9 9 miles. It required
m ore than 2,500 hours o f labor.
-D O N A L D F R IE D L IC H ,
j e w e l r y a r t is t , M a d is o n , W I
V o i c e s
W
h o ' s T o u r P l a t o n i c C
r a
f t C r u s h ?
Sylvie Rosenthal
J o u rn ey to an
E m p ty C ity ,
2010
basswood, poplar,
paint, mixed media
5.75 x4.5 x 2 ft.
018 american craft feb/mari2
J o u rn ey
photo: Ram6n C. Purcell /
H eadp iece
photo: Giovanni Corvaja
